Only the Lord Jesus Christ

 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭6‬ ‭KJV

Isaiah prophesied, “Like wayward sheep, we have all wandered astray. Each of us has turned from God’s paths and chosen our own way; even so, YAHWEH laid the guilt of our every sin upon Him.”  Like wandering sheep, we have been self-deceived into waywardness.  See the mercy of the Godhead that the LORD interceded within Himself to orchestrate our salvation.  This entire chapter has such detail of the last hours of Jesus Christ, that it’s almost as if Isaiah was standing at the foot of the Cross and writing.  But it was written more than seven hundred years before the Cross and stated in the past tense as though this event had already happened.  There is no other person who could possibly fulfil all of Isaiah’s prophecy except the Lord Jesus Christ.  As Peter puts it, “In fact, you were called to live this way, because Christ also suffered in your place, leaving you His example for you to follow. He never sinned and He never spoke deceitfully. When He was verbally abused, He did not return with an insult; when He suffered, He would not threaten retaliation. Jesus faithfully entrusted Himself into the hands of God, Who judges righteously. He Himself  carried our sins in His body on the Cross so that we would be dead to sin and live for righteousness. Our instant healing flowed from His wounding.”  Thank You, Jesus!

The Faith of a Believing Spouse Makes a Difference

 “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭7‬:‭14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The revelation to Paul, “For the unbelieving husband has been made holy by his believing wife. And the unbelieving wife has been made holy by her believing husband by virtue of his or her sacred union to a believer. Otherwise, the children from this union would be unclean, but in fact, they are holy.”  By implication, Paul is making the point that in marriages where one is a believer and one an unbeliever, the spouses should remain together, for the righteous faith of a believer makes the marriage holy.  Apparently, because of their desire to serve Christ, some believing Corinthians who had pagan spouses thought it best to divorce them and find believing spouses.  Paul corrects that error and affirms the marriage covenant.  In the old covenant, the entire family came into covenant with God.  Therefore, the children of even one believing parent are set apart for God.  God never forces or intimidates anyone to believe in Him.  God fully respects the free will He has given to all humans.  Let the faith of the believing spouse make the difference and bring the soul to Christ.  Amen!

Christ our Sin Bearer and His Resurrected Glory

 “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭52‬:‭13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Isaiah prophesied, ““Look! My Servant will prosper and succeed! He will be highly honored, raised up, and greatly exalted!”  Apart from the four Gospels, Isaiah from this section onwards gives the greatest description of the life, crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Although up till now, Isaiah prophesied Jesus as our true Prophet, Teacher and Victorious Redeemer, it was without telling of His death on the Cross.  But from this portion onwards, it is the prophecy about the Suffering Servant and Sin-Bearer Who died for us, and the glory that followed.  This is the obvious reference to Jesus Who was raised from the dead and highly exalted at the right hand of God. As Peter said, “This salvation was the focus of the prophets who prophesied of this outpouring of grace that was destined for us who believe.  They made a careful search and investigation of the meaning of their God-given prophecies as they probed into the mysteries of who would fulfill them and the time period when it would all take place. The Spirit of the Anointed One was in them and was pointing prophetically to the sufferings that Christ was destined to suffer and the glories that would be released afterward.”  Thank You, Jesus!

The Supremacy of the in Christ Church

 “Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Paul’s revelation is, “For surely you know that we will one day judge angels, let alone these everyday matters. Don’t you realize that you are bringing your issues before civil judges appointed by people who have no standing within the Church? What a shame that there is not one within the Church who has the spirit of wisdom who could arbitrate these disputes and reconcile the offended parties!”  Paul disciplines the Church, which is the Body of Christ!  Church is translated from Greek “Ekklesia” which means a “governing body”, that is meant to promote the welfare of a city.  This means that the Church has wisdom and leadership to govern and bring blessing to a city.  The Church is to govern and judge the angelic realm.  Our position in Christ is higher than the angels - they are servants, we are sons - and sons rule over servants.  The Church is supremely higher than the world system and must have believers who discern, sift, weigh and judge everyday matters within the Church.  Let’s cooperate in the Body of Christ to fulfil God’s plan of doing things the superior way, because of our identity in Christ, rather than depending on the world system.  We are a supernatural people.  Amen!

Our Joyous Fulfilment in Christ

 “My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭51‬:‭5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Isaiah prophesied, “My righteousness is coming closer, and My salvation has gone out. My mighty arms will govern the people. The islands will trust in Me and put their hope in the unveiling of My might.”  God’s righteousness, God’s salvation and God’s mighty arms are the three pictures of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the hope for God’s mighty arm of power. No one lives to himself and no one dies to himself.  Only the Gospel of Christ is our greatest hope and is the fulfillment of the age that has come! It is time for God’s Kingdom to be experienced in its fullness! Let’s turn our lives back to God and put our trust in this hope-filled Gospel where Jesus became sin for us that we might be the righteousness of God in Him.  The angel told Joseph, “She will give birth to a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus (The LORD is salvation), for He will save His people from their sins.” This is the unveiling and the celebration of the hope we have that we having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we celebrate in hope of the glory of God.  What a joyous fulfilment is our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen!

Discipline of Behaviour in the Church

 “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Paul’s revelation was, “So call a meeting, and when you gather together in the Name of our Lord Jesus, and you know my spirit is present with you in the infinite power of our Lord Jesus, release this man over to satan for the destruction of his rebellious flesh, in hope that his spirit may be rescued and restored in the day of the Lord.”  God had given Paul the exceptional ability to have his spirit present, along with the power of God, in their meetings together.  The meaning of satan is the “accusing adversary”.  When a person is put out of the fellowship of the church family, the accuser has access to harass and oppress.  There is a blessed protection in the fellowship of God’s people, for the Lord is present with us when we gather in His Name.  This man who was delivered to the accuser suffered the consequences of his actions to learn the lesson the hard way.  It is not a light thing to be handed over to satan.  We learn from a later letter that the man did repent and the church forgave and comforted him.  Discipline and correction is necessary in the church so that we are purified to live holy.  God chastens those whom He loves.  Amen!

The Precise Prophetic Word for Christ

 “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭50‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Isaiah prophesied about the Lord Jesus Christ seven hundred years before, with complete precision.  “The Lord YAHWEH has equipped Me with the anointed, skillful tongue of a teacher — to know how to speak a timely word to the weary. Morning by morning, He awakens My heart. He opens My ears to hear His voice, to be trained to teach. The Lord YAHWEH has opened My ear, and I did not resist; I did not rebel. I offered My back to those who flogged Me and My cheek to those who tore out My beard. I never hid My face from demeaning insults or from those who spit on Me.”  The Lord Jesus Christ while on earth, repeatedly said that He spoke only what the Father gave Him to say.  What is easier - to put our trust in hand-made idols to save us, or to believe in the God Who came down from heaven to die so that He would rise again and set mankind free from sin through His Own Blood Sacrifice?   Let’s believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, Living God.  Amen!

The Reward of Eternity

 “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Paul’s revelation was, “So resist the temptation to pronounce premature judgment on anything before the appointed time when all will be fully revealed. Instead, wait until the Lord makes his appearance, for he will bring all that is hidden in darkness to light and unveil every secret motive of everyone’s heart. Then, when the whole truth is known, each will receive praise from God.”  God will bring to light the secret motives of love, faithfulness, righteousness, kindness etc. - not only evil motives but pure motives of believers.  When the Lord judges His godly lovers, their secret devotion and sacrifices will all be brought into the light and God will praise them for their faithful love.  The reward of eternity will be that God affirms them.  The word “praise” is “thanks from God” when God praises His faithful servants. By living in God, love has been brought to its full expression in us so that we may fearlessly face the day of judgment, because all that Jesus now is, so are we in this world. Love never brings fear, for fear is always related to punishment. But love’s perfection drives the fear of punishment far from our hearts. Whoever walks constantly afraid of punishment has not reached love’s perfection. Our love for others is our grateful response to the love God first demonstrated to us.  Amen!

The Fulfilment of Prophecy in Christ

 “Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; and said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭49‬:‭1‬-‭3‬, ‭6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Isaiah prophesied, “Listen to what I have to say, you islands. Pay attention to Me, you who live in distant lands. YAHWEH called Me as His Own before I was born and named Me while I was still in My mother’s womb. He gives Me words that pierce and penetrate. He hid Me and protected Me in the shadow of His  Hand. He prepared Me like a polished arrow and concealed Me in His quiver. And He said to Me, “Israel, You are My special Servant; in You I will be glorified.” who says: “Is it too small a thing for You, My servant, to restore greatness to Jacob’s tribes and the survivors of Israel? I will make You to be a Light to the nations and to bring the Light of My salvation to the ends of the earth!”  Although Israel is named, the fulfilment is Jesus Christ, the true Servant of the Lord, called and named from the womb, equipped and prepared, appointed and commissioned as God’s Servant.  He is highly favoured in the sight of God, finding His strength in His Father and doing only what pleased Him.  He still is the Light and Salvation to the gentiles.  Amen!

Doing God’s Work in God’s Way

 “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Paul’s revelation was, “The quality of materials used by anyone building on this foundation will soon be made apparent, whether it has been built with gold, silver, and costly stones, or wood, hay, and straw. Their work will soon become evident, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by blazing fire! And the fire will test and prove the workmanship of each builder.”  The Church is God’s true temple.  The temple of Solomon was built using gold, silver and costly stones.  Wisdom will build her house with divine substance (gold), redemption’s fruit (silver), and transformed lives (costly stones).  Wood, hay and straw are emblems of the work of the flesh, the building materials of men, not of God.  They grow up from the ground, which God cursed.  It is both quality and durability that God commends.  Fire will cause the better material to glow brighter, but the inferior material will be consumed.  How we build and what we build matters to God.  It is possible to build on the true foundation of Christ but with wrong materials.  We need God’s work done in God’s way.  So whether we live or die we make it our life’s passion to live our lives pleasing to Him.  For one day we will all be openly revealed before Christ on His  throne so that each of us will be duly recompensed for our actions done in life, whether good or worthless.  Let’s seek to do God’s will every moment so that we bring heaven down to earth while we live here.  Amen!